So Long, See You Tomorrow

DNF at 29%: I so badly wanted to like this, but I just couldn't get into it. I saw that I was 10 pages in and my reaction was “fuck there's 135 pages left.” So I quit. This is kind of like a big deal for me, you know? I'd never consciously dropped a book before, wow #characterdevelopment

4.5 stars. Quietly heartbreaking. Structured uniquely - this meditation on the past and on trying to decipher the unknowable of those people we share moments or a season with is unexpectedly moving. Trigger warning for animal death (dog) that was not of natural or accidental causes and is unjustified.

Did I miss something? So many 4-5 star ratings. Parts of this book were easily 5 stars, but I was never fully drawn into the book or the story. It reads like a book you're assigned in high school. Something that should be a huge classic, but either it went completely over your head or it's all fluff to make these writing teachers LOVE it.


To me, the paragraphs jumped around too much, the characters were unclear, and hard to keep track of. I didn't care for any of them. I was drawn into the time period and landscape. That portion was easily 5 stars. The story was very realistic and didn't try to cover up the harsh realities of life. Divorces happen, people change. for that I also give 4-5 stars. But what else happened? Someone is killed in the first chapter, then what? Ok. I see it's more about an old man recounting his life.. but then it switches to all these different characters and their lives/perspectives. What happened?! Maybe the point is ‘this is life'. And for that reason nothing really is supposed to happen. Maybe it's more about the after effects and how one person's actions can have such repercussions on everyone around them.

For such as short book, it just couldn't pull it together for me.